


One Interesting Little Baby

by okay_klepto



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Baby Jack - Freeform, Fatherly Arthur, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, uncle Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-14 04:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18045710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okay_klepto/pseuds/okay_klepto
Summary: On a slow day at camp, Charles finds Arthur intently watching baby Jack instead of helping out with regular chores.  Charles never realized how fascinated Arthur was with babies.





	One Interesting Little Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Upon further research, I realized that Charles wasn't in the gang when Jack was a baby, but that didn't stop me! (More like I didn't feel another character fit the interactions I wanted Arthur to have, so I bent canon a little bit. So what?????)

   Charles poured himself a well-deserved cup of coffee, asking himself why he had bothered tracking that one bison down nearly all night.  But it meant the camp would eat for another week, and there would be one more heavy blanket for the winter. Charles surveyed everyone around camp as he took his first sip of coffee.  Everyone was working hard completing chores. Everyone, except for one person.

  “Arthur.”  Charles approached Arthur from behind, towering over the man lying face down on the ground.

   “Hey, Charles,” Arthur greeted, not looking up to Charles.

   “What… are you doing?”

   “Watchin’ Jack.”

   Charles took a long sip of coffee before squatting down next to Arthur.  “Why?”

   Arthur shrugged as best he could with his arms crossed under his chin.  “He’s interestin’.”

   Charles paused and watched little Jack lying on a blanket.  He had himself propped up on his elbows, his legs sticking out behind him and kicking a little every now and then, a very similar position Arthur was lying in.

   “What’s he doing?”  Charles asked.

   “He’s tryin’ to grab the ball.”

   A small rubber ball was just within Jack’s grasp.  On the other side of him was a small stuffed bear.

   “He’s really good at gettin’ the bear because it’s soft, but he’s not too good at gettin’ the ball since it ain’t soft.  His little hands ain’t strong enough.”

   Jack looked at the ball with wide eyes and reached out of it, but his fingers couldn't quite wrap themselves around it, and his little fist ended up sending the ball rolling away.  Arthur quickly grabbed the ball before it could roll farther and placed it back within Jack’s reach, Jack’s little eyes watching him closely.

   “How long have you been at this?”  Charles questioned.

   “When did Abigail start washin’ clothes?”

   “Arthur, that was well over an hour ago.”

   “Well then, that’s how long it’s been.”

   Charles and Arthur watched Jack for a few more moments.  Like Arthur had said, he could easily grab and move the teddy bear.  But his attention soon went from the toys to the grass growing at the edge of the blanket.  He scooted himself forward and reached a tiny hand out towards a clump of grass. Tiny fingers wrapped themselves around a baby-sized fist full of blades and pulled, about a third of them coming out of the ground.  Jack smiled a toothless smile and giggled before bringing the grass to his mouth.

   “Whoa, boy!”  Arthur reached out for Jack’s fist and opened it with one finger, knocking the grass out and away from Jack’s mouth.  Jack did not appreciate Arthur’s removal of his new found snack and began to whine.

   “Hey, it’s alright.  Play with this.”

   Arthur lifted the wooden rattle that had fallen off the blanket with his thumb and index finger.  After giving it a quick shake, Jack had completely forgotten about the grass and reached for the rattle.  He held it and hit it against the ground, letting out a giggle when it made a sound.

   “How old is he?”

   “Four months,” Arthur responded.  “Ain’t he the cutest?”

   Charles shook his head.  “I don’t get you, Morgan.  One second you’re out threatening and robbing people, the next you’re cuddling up with a baby that isn’t even yours.  Who would have guessed you liked babies so much?”

   “I just think Jack is interestin’!  The way he moves and discovers the world.  What do you think is goin’ on in that little brain of his?”

   “He’s probably thinking you’re weird for watching him.”

   Arthur just waved Charles off as Charles stood and walked away to finish his last sips of coffee.

   “Don’t listen to him, Jack.  Charles just doesn’t know how to have a good time.”

   Jack smiled as Arthur patted his head.

   “C’mon.”  Arthur stood and lifted Jack, letting Jack get comfy with his rattle in his arms.  “Let’s go find Abigail. She might need some help with the washin’ from two big, strong boys.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed this fic! Don’t forget to check out my [other works](https://archiveofourown.com/users/okay_klepto) as well. As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated, and please consider making a small [Ko-fi donation](https://ko-fi.com/okayklepto) if you enjoy my writing!


End file.
